homemade-skittles-vodka-recipe-diy

Homemade Skittles vodka recipe

Making & DIY

This is a really easy recipe that will produce a delicious and colourful rainbow of homemade Skittles vodka.

homemade skittles vodka recipe

A rainbow of Skittles Vodka brewing!

You could make a batch as home-made gifts. Getting into a thrifty mindset, it is a great idea to make and prepare DIY Gifts all year round. Have a little stockpile of beautifully-made, special presents, ready to give loved ones, family and friends. Making your own gifts can save you a small fortune.

It’s easy to believe that the more you spend on a present, the more the recipient will feel loved. The truth is, the more thought and time you put into a present, the more the recipient will KNOW they are loved.

Why not put even more thought into the gift by personalising and decorating the labels for each bottle. You could write on the glass with a Sharpie, or decorate the bottles with 3D Embellishing paste – as in this previous article: 3D embellished glass jars

You will need

First off you will need clean, sterilised, small glass bottles with screw top or stoppered lids. You can shop around kitchen stores or supermarkets during the sales to find cheap, empty, glass bottles.

You can save even more money by recycling your empty small glass bottles. Supermarkets sell small wine bottles that you can re-use once you’ve enjoyed the contents.. or try using empty soy-sauce or vinegar bottles.

To recycle your own bottles, ensure you wash each bottle and lid thoroughly. When you have a good stash, sterilise in bulk, all the bottles and lids using sterilising solution. You can buy a pot of sterilising powder for under £2 which will make a few batches of sterilising solution – available from anywhere that sells home-brewing equipment, or here is one from Amazon – VWP Cleanser and sterilser – 100g

 

homemade skittles vodka ingredients make skittles vodka recipe homemade skittles vodka recipe

Skittles vodka recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 family-sized bags of Skittles
  • 1.5 litres of vodka (two 75cl bottles)
  • feel free to double up if you want to make a large batch for presents

Method

  1. Separate the Skittles into piles of each colour
  2. Place each colour in a clean mason jar or bottle
  3. Top up with vodka
  4. Screw the lids onto each bottle nice and tightly and give each bottle a really good shake
  5. You can now leave the bottles overnight (if you’re in a hurry), or for a day or so. Shake the bottles a few times a day, to help the Skittles to dissolve into the vodka
  6. After a couple of days the Skittles will have completely dissolved. You will have created a fruity rainbow of Skittles vodka
  7. Filter the vodka through a coffee filter or cheese cloth at this point, to remove the sugary sediment
  8. Pour the Skittles vodka into smaller gift-sized bottles
  9. Screw the lids tightly on the smaller gift-sized bottles and decorate away
Skittles vodka for party

Mini bottles of Skittles Vodka as gifts

As an alternative to separating the colours, you can add all the colours into one batch minus the green ones (which can make it taste sour) and make a separate green batch or just eat the leftover green skittles!

If you are running short of time and need to have it ready in an hour rather than soaking over night… simply shake the mixture vigorously every ten minutes and you will still create a very tasty skittles vodka.

What to do with your Skittles vodka

  • This Skittles vodka is best served chilled straight from the fridge, or over ice. It is delicious when you add lemonade or tonic water as it’s pretty strong if you drink it neat!
  • This Skittles vodka should be stored in a cool dark place and will keep for months.. but you know it won’t have a chance to last that long!
  • Get creative if you are making little bottles of Skittles vodka as gifts, maybe tie a ribbon around the neck. You could decorate the label with glitter or a Sharpie pen, use 3D embelishing paste on the glass, or perhaps tie a parcel label around the neck and write ‘Drink Me’ on it

 

Enjoy, drink responsibly and get used to being incredibly popular – as you start to give bottles of home-made alcohol as gifts!

You might enjoy these related homemade alcohol recipes…

Make it: Homemade Toffee Vodka

Home Brew: Elderflower Champagne

Make it: Sloe Gin

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

 

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

morell fungus fungi mushroom forage foraging forager fre food wild thrifty sustainability sustainable self sufficient

Foraging in Spring – Free food in the wild UK

Free

Foraging in Spring, for food in the wild, is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Wild Garlic ramsons forage forager foraging in Spring free food in the wild uk sustainability thrifty

Wild Garlic – ‘Ramsons’ – Ready to forage right now! – Great in a stir-fry or pesto

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem. Start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick during Springtime in the UK.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland and see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

Get Foraging in Spring!

Early Spring:

Birch SapBulrushChickweedCleaversDandelion RootGorse FlowersGround elderHairy bittercressHop ShootsJack-by-the-hedgeMorelNettleOyster MushroomSweet VioletVelvet shankWild Garlic

Late Spring:

BorageBrooklimeBistortCarragheenChickweedCleaversCow ParsleyDandelion Flowers & RootDog RoseFairy-ring ChampignonFat HenGorse FlowersHawthorne leaves & blossomHop ShootsLaverMallow leavesMintMorelNettlePrimrosePrunellaRosemarySea BeetSorrelSt George’s MushroomSweet CicelySweet VioletTansy leavesWatercressWild GarlicYarrow

Identifying your foraged finds

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIY dandelions

Dandelions – flowers and leaves great in salad – turn the roots into a coffee-like drink

morell fungus fungi mushroom forage foraging in spring forager free food wild thrifty sustainability sustainable self sufficient

Foraging in Spring for the elusive but tasty Morell

Dog Rose forage foraging forager wild food may uk thrifty sustainability

Dog Rose – you can eat the petals!

Ground Elder forage foraging in Spring uk free food wild thrifty sustainability save money

Ground Elder – great eaten raw in salads

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:
My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

 

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

toffee vodka homemade recipe gift idea alcohol

How to make Homemade Toffee Vodka

Making & DIY, Thrifty

This is a really easy recipe that will produce delicious homemade toffee vodka.

toffee vodka homemade recipe gift idea alcohol

Decorated bottles of delicious toffee vodka

You could make a batch as home-made gifts. Getting into a thrifty mindset, it is a great idea to make and prepare DIY Gifts all year round. Have a little stockpile of beautifully-made, special presents, ready to give loved ones, family and friends. Making your own gifts can also save you a small fortune at Christmas.

It’s easy to believe that the more you spend on a present, the more the recipient will feel loved. The truth is, the more thought and time you put into a present, the more the recipient will KNOW they are loved.

Why not put even more thought into the gift by personalising and decorating the labels for each bottle. You could even decorate the bottles with 3D Embellishing paste – as in this previous article: 3D embellished glass jars

You will need

First off you will need clean, sterilised, small glass bottles with screw top or stoppered lids. You can shop around kitchen stores or supermarkets during the sales to find cheap, empty, glass bottles.

You can save even more money by recycling your empty small glass bottles. Supermarkets sell small wine bottles that you can re-use once you’ve enjoyed the contents.. or try using empty soy-sauce or vinegar bottles.

To recycle your own bottles, ensure you wash each bottle and lid thoroughly.  When you have a good stash, sterilise in bulk, all the bottles and lids using sterilising solution. You can buy a pot of sterilising powder for under £2 which will make a few batches of sterilising solution – available from anywhere that sells home-brewing equipment, or here is one from Amazon – VWP Cleanser and sterilser – 100g

 

toffee vodka recipe homemade gift idea alcohol

Making this Toffee vodka is easy and it is ready within days!

Toffee vodka recipe

Ingredients

  • 300g bag of toffee or butterscotch such as Werthers Original
  • 1.5 litres of vodka (two 75cl bottles)

Method

  1. Remove all wrappers and packaging from the toffee and smash it all up into tiny bits with a rolling-pin. If you have a coffee grinder or sturdy food processor, you can use these appliances to get the desired ‘smithereens’ result
  2. If you have two 75cl bottles of vodka, pour about a third of each bottle into a sterilised empty third bottle
  3. Divide the smashed up toffee into three piles and add a pile to each bottle using a funnel
  4. Screw the lids onto each bottle nice and tightly and give each bottle a really good shake
  5. You can now leave the bottles for about two days. Shake the bottles a few times a day, to help the toffee to dissolve into the vodka
  6. After a couple of days the toffee will have completely dissolved. You will have created a creamy and delicious toffee vodka
  7. You can keep the three big bottles as they are, or pour the toffee vodka into smaller gift-sized bottles. You can choose to filter the vodka through a coffee filter at this point if you wish, it can make the vodka taste a little smoother.
  8. Screw the lids tightly on the smaller gift-sized bottles and decorate away

What to do with your toffee vodka

  • This toffee vodka is best served chilled straight from the fridge, or over ice. If it’s too strong, you can add it to milk or coffee to drink it. It’s also delicious poured over ice cream!
  • This toffee vodka should be stored in a cool dark place and will keep for years.. but you know it won’t have a chance to last that long!
  • You can experiment with the amount and types of toffee that you use. Try mixing different types of toffee or butterscotch to make your own special flavour
  • Get creative if you are making little bottles of toffee vodka as gifts, maybe tie a ribbon around the neck. You could decorate the label with glitter, use 3D embelishing paste on the glass, or perhaps tie a parcel label around the neck and write ‘Drink Me’ on it

Enjoy, drink responsibly and get used to being incredibly popular – as you start to give bottles of home-made alcohol as gifts!

You might enjoy these related homemade alcohol recipes…

Home Brew: Elderflower Champagne

Make it: Sloe Gin

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Hazelnut Hazelnuts foraging for free food wildfood bushcraft forager forage survival gather harvest nut nuts

Foraging in August – free food in the wild UK

Free

Foraging for food in the wild is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Hazelnut Hazelnuts foraging for free food wildfood bushcraft forager forage survival gather harvest nut nuts

Foraging Hazelnuts in August

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem. Start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a short list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick in August in the UK.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland, see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you, and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Get Foraging in August!

Borage    Black Mustard    Blackberries    Brooklime    Cauliflower Fungus     Carragheen     Cep    Chanterelle    Cherry Plums   Chicken of the woods    Chickweed    Cleavers    Crab Apples   Dandelion Flowers & Root    Elderberries     Fairy-ring Champignon    Fat Hen   Field Mushroom   Giant Puffball   Gooseberry    Green Walnut    Hazelnuts   Hedgehog Fungus   Horse Mushroom    Laver   Mallow leaves    Mint    Nettle   Mulberries     Parasol Mushroom   Primrose Leaves    Prunella Raspberry    Rosehips    Rosemary   Sea Beet     Shaggy Cap    Sorrel     Watercress   Wild Cherries    Wild Damsons    Wild Fig   Wild Strawberry

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:

My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Gooseberry gooseberries forage foraging bushcraft forager wild food uk

Foraging in July – free food in the wild UK

Free

Foraging for food in the wild is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Gooseberry gooseberries forage foraging bushcraft forager wild food uk

Gooseberries

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem. Start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a short list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick in July in the UK.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland, see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you, and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Get Foraging in July!

Borage    Blackcurrant   Brooklime    Carragheen   Cep   Chanterelle   Chicken of the woods   Chickweed    Cleavers   Dandelion Flowers & Root    Dog Rose    Fairy-ring Champignon   Fat Hen   Field Mushroom   Giant Puffball   Gooseberry    Gorse Flowers    Green Walnut   Horse Mushroom   Laver  Lime Blossom   Mallow leaves    Mint    Nettle   Parasol Mushroom    Primrose Leaves    Prunella    Raspberry   Redcurrant   Rosemary   Sea Beet   Shaggy Cap   Sorrel   Sweet Violet Tansy leaves    Watercress    Wild Fig   Wild Strawberry

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:

My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Wild Strawberry foraging in June in the UK forage bushcraft thrifty alpine strawberry

Foraging in June – free food in the wild UK

Free

Foraging for food in the wild is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Wild Strawberry foraging in June in the UK forage bushcraft thrifty alpine strawberry

Wild Strawberry – small but tasty!

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem. Start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a short list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick in June in the UK.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland, see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you, and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Get Foraging in June!

Borage    Brooklime     Carragheen     Chickweed     Cleavers     Cow Parsley     Dandelion Flowers & Root     Dog Rose    Elderfower     Fairy-ring Champignon    Fat Hen     Gorse Flowers     Hawthorne leaves & blossom    Laver     Mallow leaves      Mint     Morel      Nettle      Primrose     Prunella     Rosemary     Sea Beet    Shaggy Ink Cap  Sorrel St George’s Mushroom    Sweet Cicely     Sweet Violet    Tansy leaves     Watercress     Wild Fig    Wild Garlic    Wild Strawberry     Yarrow

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:

My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Elderflower Champagne recipe home brew sparkling wine delicous alcohol forage foraged forager foraging bushcraft wildfood cheap thrifty

Home Brew: Elderflower Champagne

Cheap Food / on a Budget, Making & DIY, Thrifty

Making Elderflower Champagne is a fantastic way of turning free, foraged ingredients and low-cost store cupboard ingredients, into a few large bottles of actual alcohol. If you are new to making home brew, Elderflower Champagne is a great place to start.

Elderflower champagne recipe home brew for foragers foraging forager foraged

Elderflowers in bloom

This drink is so cheap and easy to make. The result is a delicious, elegant drink that you can take to a picnic or BBQ and share with friends, or just enjoy at home on a summer’s evening when you fancy something refreshing.

Foraging for Elderflower is pretty simple and the flowers are easy to spot. They have a creamy white colour with a very distinctive smell. They appear in large, flat heads in early summer, usually at the end of May and beginning of June. Elderflower heads should be picked as they are just coming into flower. You can read more about Elderflower varieties on Wikipedia here: Elderflower

Elderflower Champagne Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 6 large heads of Elderflower (gently shake the heads to remove any insects but do not wash them as you will need all the blossom to ferment your brew!)
  • 4 ½ Litres of water
  • 2 sliced lemons
  • 450g granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar

Make it:

Elderflower champagne recipe home brew lemons sugar bowl brewing

Leave to steep in water for up to 36 hours

  1. Add the 6 heads of Elderflower, and the sliced lemons to the 4 ½ litres of water in a large bowl. You can split between a couple of bowls if you like. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel to keep insects away and Leave the mixture to steep for 24-36 hours
  2. Strain your mixture through a sieve into another bowl – you can now discard the Elderflower and lemon slices
  3. Add the 450g of sugar and the 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and give it a good stir
  4. Pour into clean plastic bottles with screw top lids – close the lid but not tightly. As the mixture ferments the pressure will build in the bottles and you will need to release the pressure every couple of days. Releasing the pressure
    Elderflower champagne recipe home brew sparkling wine delicous home brew brewing foraged foraging forage forager elderflowers

    Serve chilled and enjoy!

    avoids an exploding bottle and an Elderflower-flavoured kitchen

  5. Keep releasing the pressure every couple of days for 4-5 weeks. If you like you can do the occasional taste test during this time, as the longer you leave it, the drier (and stronger) the drink gets
  6. After the above fermentation time of about 5 weeks, firmly close each bottle and store in a cool dark place, until you are ready to drink!
  7. This drink will keep for months in the cupboard… but it doesn’t usually get a chance to! Tastes best if it has been chilled in the fridge for a couple of hours

 

Enjoy home brewing!

You might also enjoy this earlier post with a home brew Sloe Gin recipe: Make it: Sloe Gin

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Dog Rose forage foraging forager wild food may uk thrifty sustainability

Foraging in May – Free food in the wild UK

Free

Foraging for food in the wild is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Dog Rose forage foraging forager wild food may uk thrifty sustainability

Dog Rose – Edible petals and later, the rose-hips.

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem as you start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a short list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick in May in the UK. As the weather gets warmer, there is plenty to be found for the eager forager.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland, see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you, and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Get Foraging in May!

Borage    Brooklime     Carragheen     Chickweed     Cleavers     Cow Parsley     Dandelion Flowers & Root     Dog Rose      Fairy-ring Champignon     Fat Hen     Gorse Flowers     Hawthorne leaves & blossom     Hop Shoots     Laver     Mallow leaves     Mint     Morel     Nettle     Primrose     Prunella     Rosemary     Sea Beet    Sorrel     St George’s Mushroom     Sweet Cicely     Sweet Violet     Tansy leaves     Watercress     Wild Garlic     Yarrow

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:

My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here:


 

Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIY

How to make Dandelion Jam

Making & DIY, Thrifty

Dandelion Jam is a really unusual, but delicious treat. It is unlikely to be in your local supermarket or even your local farm shop. The fact that it is hard to Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIYget hold of makes this jam a brilliant home-made gift for friends.

Try Dandelion Jam on toast or scones, pair it with cream cheese, use it as a glaze or salad dressing… think of how you might use honey and try using Dandelion Jam instead. It’s tasty!

Getting into a thrifty mindset, it is a good idea to make and prepare DIY Gifts all year round so that you have a little stockpile of beautifully-made, special presents – ready to give to your loved ones, family and friends. With this gift idea you can put even more thought into the design by personalising and decorating the labels that you stick on each jar.

Foraging Dandelions

Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIY dandelions

Dandelions flower in the Spring and in Autumn too, so you have two chances to forage for this recipe.

When picking your Dandelion flowers, make sure that you are picking them from an area that has not been sprayed with weed killers or insecticides, you don’t want that stuff in your yummy jam.

If you pick too many dandelions, you can freeze the leftover flowers for a later date.

You will need:

First off you will need clean, sterilised, glass jars with lids. You can shop around kitchen stores or supermarkets during the sales to find cheap, empty jam and preserve jars, or you can save even more money by recycling your empty jam and chutney jars.

To recycle your own jars, ensure you wash each jar and lid thoroughly then when you have a good stash, sterilise in bulk, all the jars and lids using sterilising solution. You can buy a pot of sterilising powder for under £2 which will make a few batches of sterilising solution – available from anywhere that sells home-brewing equipment, or here is one from Amazon – VWP Cleanser and sterilser – 100g

 

Dandelion Jam Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 300 yellow dandelion flower heads
  • 1kg sugar
  • 1000 ml water (about a pint and 3/4)
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1x sachet of fruit pectin – or if you have a box of pectin powder follow
    instructions on the box (you can add more pectin for a thicker jam)
Method:

Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIY dandelions

  1. Wash the flower heads throughly in cold water
  2. Pluck or cut the yellow flower from the small green leaves that hold it, it’s ok if a few small green bits are still in the mix, but ideally you just want the yellow flower for this jam. The small green leaves have a bitter taste and can turn the jam a light green, so it is worth the extra effort. Prepare yourself for sticky yellow fingers during this bit
  3. Mix water with sugar and bring to boil in a pan
  4. Add the flower heads to the mix, Bring to the boil and simmer for 20mins
  5. 2-3 mins before the 20mins is up add the lemon juice
  6. Remove pan from heat and allow to stand for 24hrs
  7. Dandelion jam jelly honey make home-made thrifty sustainability gift present DIYPour mixture through a sieve into a new pan to remove the flower heads (you can leave some of the petals in the mix if you like, they are edible and look really great in the finished jam – a bit like yellow marmalade)
  8. Simmer mixture on a low heat for 20 mins
  9. Add pectin 3-4 mins before the end, bring to boil and then boil for a further 5 mins
  10. When finished, you should have a clear yellowish jam that smells like honey and tastes absolutely delicious! Pour the warm jam into warm, sterilised, dry jam jars. Pop on the lids, then label and date

If you would prefer to make dandelion syrup, just leave out the pectin.

 

Did you know?
  • Dandelion flowers have antioxidant properties
  • Don’t waste the Dandelion greens either, they can be eaten raw as salad or cooked like spinach. Dandelion greens contain vitamins A, B and C, along with potassium and iron

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

If you would like to receive Thrifty Sustainability updates by email when a new article is added, please subscribe here: